KING SHAH
FAISAL MOSQUE ISLAMABAD

The Shah Faisal Masjid in
Islamabad, Pakistan, is among one of the largest mosques in the world. It is
a popular masjid in the Islamic world, and is renowned for both its size and
its architecture covering an area of 5,000 square meters with a capacity of
300,000 worshippers.

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The
decision to build Faisal Mosque was taken in 1966 in the regime of
President Ayub Khan when the late King Faisal bin Abdul
Aziz of Saudi Arabia suggested it
during a visit to Islamabad. In 1969, an international competition
was held in which architects from 17 countries submitted 43 proposals. After
four days of deliberation, Turkish architect Vedat
Dalokay's design was chosen for map of Shah Faisal Masjid. Construction of the mosque began in 1976 by National
Construction of Pakistan, led by Azim Borujerdi, and was funded by the
government of Saudi Arabia, at a cost of over 130 million Saudi riyals
(approximately $120 million USD today). King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz was
instrumental in the funding, and both the mosque and the road leading to it were
named after him after his assassination in 1975. The mosque was completed in 1986, and used to house
the International
Islamic University. The mausoleum of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq,
whose 1988 funeral at the site was the largest in the history of Pakistan,
is located adjacent to the Shah Faisal Masjid. The farcical nature of the burial is in the
fact that the only thing that is buried there is the "alleged" lower jaw of
Zia-ul-Haq. Furthermore, there is no conformation as to whether the bone belongs
to either the pilot or fellow passengers on the Pakistan Air Force No. 1 in
which Zia died. The site is known amongst the locals as “Jabrah chowk”
(Jaw Zone). Many conservative Muslims criticised the design at first for its
non-conventional design and lack of the traditional dome structure, but
virtually all criticism was eventually silenced by the mosque's scale, form, and
setting against the Margalla Hills upon
completion.

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It is located at the end of
Shaharah-e-Islamabad, putting it at one end of the city and in front of a
magnificent backdrop provided by the Margalla Hills. It is a focal point of
Islamabad, and famous and recognized icon of the city.

During early nineteenth century, Hunza resented Kashmir's attempts to gain
control and its rulers periodically expelled Kashmir garrisons, threatended
Gilgit, and politicked with the rulers of Kashgar to the north where the
Russians were gaining influence. Fearing Russians infiltration into their
northern frontiers, the British took over direct political control at Gilgit in
1889. Incesant fratricidal intrigues in Hunza and Nagar made the areas doubly
insecure. This, coupled with the Mir of Hunza's consistent intransigence induced
the British to march on Hunza in December 1891, where they fought a decisive
battle at Nilit, 60 km beyond Diaynor Bridge. After this the British garrisoned
Aliabad until 1897 when Hunza became a princely state protected by the
Government of British India. After the Pakistan was created in 1947, the people
of Hunza also gained liberation and the princely state was merged in Pakistan.

Nature has given Gilgit Baltistan with perfect beauty, high peaks, snowy
mountains, fresh water lakes, lush green fairy meadows, at the same time
this area is also blessed with unlimited and heavy deposits of precious
and semi-precious stones, precious & semi-precious metals, and
industrial stones like Ruby, Gold, Topaz, Aquamarine, Tourmaline,
Epidote, Paragasite, Zircon, Actinolite, Lead, Moonstone, Himalayan
Quartz, Emerald, Marble, Granite, Feldspar, Mica, Calcite, Feldspar,
Antimony, Graphite, Alum, Coal, Copper, Barite, China Clay etc. It is
estimated that almost 95% of the precious & semi-precious stones located
in Pakistan are found in Gilgit Baltistan.

At an elevation of 1453.90 meter lies the Gilgit valley, offers spectacular
scenic beauty. It is surrounded by lakes, rivers, glaciers and high mountains
ranges. Some of them world's largest peaks, such as Nanga Parbat, 8125 meter and
Raka Poshi, 7788 meter are located here. The best season to visit is from May to
mid October. The local dialect is Shina, however, Urdu and English are also
spoken and understood.